


Swanaz

by Coeurire



Series: FSF Tarot Prompt Table Challenge [2]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:08:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24672856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coeurire/pseuds/Coeurire
Summary: Mabel wonders why the strange girl she meets on the outskirts of town only seems to meet with her at night.
Relationships: Pacifica Northwest/Mabel Pines
Series: FSF Tarot Prompt Table Challenge [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1795486
Comments: 4
Kudos: 23
Collections: femslashficlets: tarot prompt challenge





	Swanaz

**Author's Note:**

> Written for femslashficlets' tarot prompt challenge. Prompt: The High Priestess - Secrets and hidden circumstances stand in the way and need to be understood.

Mabel likes the feeling of the woods at night. The way the cool night wind whooshes through her long hair and the way the leaves crunch under her feet. Some nights, she walks all the way down to the lake, the one near the strange estate near the edge of Gravity Falls with the perpetually locked iron gates, and just sits there on the grass, gazing up at the stars and down at their reflection in the lake. It’s so peaceful she sometimes falls asleep there, waking up to the sunrise with dew on her clothes.

She’s watching the way the stars sparkle in the lake around midnight when she notices a strange girl making her way down from the estate, into the rushes. The girl’s long blonde hair shines in the moonlight, and she wears a long pale dress. 

Mabel jumps up and waves, grinning wildly. To Mabel, a stranger in the moonlight is just a friend you haven’t met. “Hi!” she calls. “Hey there! Yoo-hoo!” 

The stranger turns and freezes, as if she’s been caught doing something she wasn’t meant to. She stands still for a moment, a deer considering whether to remain frozen or to turn and run, white tail whipping away in the sunrise. After a moment, a tentative hand is raised. “Hi,” she calls back. 

Mabel pats the spot next to her. “Come sit!” The girl walks over and nestles herself in the grass.

Mabel learns that the girl’s name is Pacifica, and that yes, she lives in the estate on top of the lake. That’s all Mabel can get out of her before she slips away at sunrise to sleep, but they meet again the next night, and the next night, and the next, and Mabel learns more. Pacifica’s favorite color is purple and she loves sparkly eyeshadow, just like Mabel does. Her voice falters slightly when she talks about the estate, or her parents, and Mabel hasn’t seen her around because she’s homeschooled. She learns that Pacifica likes Mabel a lot, and she learns, in a whispered confession one moonless night, that Pacifica has no other friends. 

“I’m sick of meeting like this,” Mabel finally says one night. “It’s dark and cold and I can barely even see your face. Why can’t we spend time together tomorrow? During the day?” 

Pacifica bites her lip. “I’ll show you,” she says. “It’s almost sunrise. And tomorrow night, I’ll tell you more.” 

She takes Mabel’s hand; it’s warm, and Mabel can smell her expensive, rosy perfume. She steps back, and their hands remain linked until the sun comes up over the horizon. Pacifica’s hand pulls away as her arms spread out and begin to shrink into her, and feathers grow like flowers all over her body. For a moment Mabel stares transfixed at a strange and beautiful long-necked, feathered girl, and as Pacifica’s features continue to change, it becomes clear what she is really staring at. 

A swan.

Mabel arrives the next night just as the sky is turning violet-pink. She sits by the lake, anxiety coursing through her, and waits. She waits for a long time, making daisy chains and clover bracelets and wishing she’d brought a book and a flashlight. Finally she sees Paifica running at top speed through the tall grass towards her, not slowing down as she approaches her, pulling her into a hug.

“You still came,” she breathes. 

“How could I not?” asks Mabel. 

Pacifica tells her everything. How her parents found her, as a child, too difficult to care for even with a nanny. How they discussed things between themselves and concluded that they only  _ really  _ wanted a child as an accessory for events. How they cursed her to remain a swan during the day and turn human at night, so she could help them entertain.

Mabel takes Pacifica’s hand in both of hers. “I’ll help you,” she says. “I promise.” 

Mabel goes to Dipper and begs him to flip through the journals, to find a way to undo the curse. He pages through the journals for a long time, the scent of old paper hanging heavy in the air, until he finally finds the answer. 

“A...kiss from her true love?” he reads. 

“So romantic!” squeals Mabel. “But how are we going to find her true love?” 

“I don’t know,” says Dipper. He looks her square in the eyes. “But I can think of a good first guess.” 

Mabel’s cheeks go hot, but she realizes that Dipper’s right. She’s loved this girl ever since she saw her pale dress reflecting moonlight, and she’s loved her more every night since then.

She goes to their usual meeting spot, but Pacifica doesn’t show up the next night, or the next night, or the next. 

“I have to go to her,” she tells Dipper. “Something’s wrong.”

The flock of swans is gathering by the lake when Mabel reaches it that sunrise. One of them stands apart from the rest, and walks strangely, almost hesitantly, compared to the others. Mabel’s heard how dangerous swans are, knows how dangerous it is to deliberately walk into a flock of them, but still she runs to them, her shoes getting covered in the mud of the lake. She throws her arms around what she hopes is the swan-Pacifica and presses her lips to her small white head, and before she knows it, she’s kissing straw-blond hair and feeling arms wrapped around her tightly.

“They locked me up when they found out I’d been sneaking out at night,” Pacifica says. She looks different without makeup, and with tears running down her cheeks, but Mabel’s never seen her smile like that, and she wants to make her do so forever. “How did you know to find me? And how did you do that?!?!?”

“Only a kiss from your true love could break the curse,” says Mabel. “And apparently, you’re looking at her!” She grins. 

Pacifica blushes. “Where do we go now?” 

Mabel smiles and takes her hand. “Home.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: mothbutterfly  
> Twitter: coeurire  
> Writing requests always open 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


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